Gumbo Limbo nature center to get new 40-foot overlook tower

A new overlook tower is coming to Boca Raton’s nature center — giving the public a chance to see from up high the region’s beautiful tropical hammocks, as well as the nearby Intracoastal Waterway and ocean.

A new overlook tower is coming to Boca Raton’s nature center — giving the public a chance to see from up high the region’s beautiful tropical hammocks, as well as the nearby Intracoastal Waterway and ocean.

The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, at 1801 N. Ocean Blvd., once had a tower, but the wooden structure was demolished in 2016 because it rotted and became unsafe. The new tower, approved by the beach and park district this week, will rise 40 feet. It’s expected to be built by March, the city said.

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Visitors had grown fond of the old tower. It’s where they used to take their grandkids. “I get asked about [the tower] every day,” said Leanne Welch, who manages the center’s marine life learning and research center and sea turtle rehab. There are about 200,000 visitors a year.

The improvements at the center also call for building the second half of a new boardwalk, completing a half-mile loop through the center’s coastal hammocks. The first half of the boardwalk, which opened in December 2016, extends about a half-mile between the nature center and the western side of Red Reef Park.

The city of Boca is in charge of the project. Overall, the beach and park district plan to pay more than $1 million for the improvements.